Colombia’s Petro seeks probe into bodies washing ashore, suspects US strikes

ISTANBUL

Colombian President Gustavo Petro requested investigations Sunday into corpses washing ashore, suspecting they are victims of US military strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific.

Petro shared photos and videos on the US social media company X’s platform showing bodies discovered in La Guajira, a region in northern Colombia bordering Venezuela near the Caribbean Sea, where the US has conducted strikes as part of its anti-narcotics operations.

"Bodies found in the far north of La Guajira. We await identification by forensic medicine," Petro wrote.

He said the bodies appeared floating in the sea off La Guajira, asking forensic medicine specialists to establish their identities and coordinate with Venezuela's prosecutor's office.

"They may be deaths from bombing in the sea," Petro said.

The US has carried out at least 22 strikes in the region on boats suspected of transporting narcotics since September, killing at least 87 people.

It has expanded military operations across Latin America in recent months, deploying Marines, warships, fighter jets, bombers, submarines and drones.